This must-have mix-six is everything new in beer right now; pick out one of each at your next trip to the beer store.
1. Single-hop beer
The of-the-moment single-hop IPA is the best way to taste what’s new on the bine and get a primer in hops’ versatility; these beers flex the flavor muscle of one hop at a time. Try Mikkeller Sorachi Ace, which spotlights the Sorachi Ace hop and its lemongrass flavors.
2. Hoppy wheat
Wheat beers (witbiers, hefeweizens and American wheats) are known for their bready and fruity flavors, but these days they’re fair game for an extra dose of hops—especially citrusy ones that accentuate orange and lemon notes. Wasatch tweaks tradition with Ghostrider, a witbier-IPA mash-up.
3. Craft lager
Craft beer’s taking back lagers: A new wave of classic American pilsners, all-malt light lagers and U.S. interpretations of old-school German and Bohemian pilsners, like Grand Canyon American Pilsner, offer bolder flavors and reshape the way we think about “fizzy yellow stuff.”
4. Native Ale
A new breed of super-close-to-home-grown beer uses ingredients cultivated or captured within state borders—sometimes, only as far as the brewer’s backyard. MillerCoors Colorado Native captures toasted malts and spicy hops farmed in the Centennial State (plus Rocky Mountain water, of course), in a bottle that’s made in Beer Country.
5. Session IPA
Session or “table” IPAs (like Uinta’s Trader) deliver a hop punch without the booze of classica American India pale ales. With ABVs near the low end of pale ales (usually less than 5%) and hop flavor that flirts with full-on IPAs, they’re perfect all-day sippers.
6. Fruit-and-Spice Saison
We’ve had a long love affair with lemony, peppery Belgian farmhouse ales like Saison Dupont; now, American brewers are changing the game by adding novel fruits (prickly pear, passion fruit) and spices (anise, grains of paradise). Sierra Nevada Ovila gets a boost from delectable mandarin orange and peppercorn additions.
Get this holder: Cold Creek Brewing’s knotty six-pack carrier ($45) has a hidden bottle opener in the handle.
